Portrait Pointers

[droiddev]

Hey guys.

I will be taking some family portraits of my sister and her family this weekend before her husband ships off to Kuwait. It will be outside with only one flash that will be fitted onto the camera. So. Available Light, Overcast, family of three. Do you have any suggestions for me so that I might make the most of this opportunity?

 

[Big Mike]

Look for a location that provides good light and then only use the flash for a bit of fill.

So maybe under some trees, but near enough to the edge that you get some nice light from the open sky.

 

[droiddev]

Awesome yeah I was thinking about that. My brother in law will be wearing his ACU's (Camo). I was thinking of taking some with my 50mm 1.8 and a 70-300mm set at 80mm focal length.

 

[KmH]

Avoid dappled sunlight at all costs.

You want the group in, and near the edge, of what is known as 'open shade' so you can use the big sky as a main light, and the flash as fill. (a big light makes for soft edged shadows.)

Outside, and having plenty of room to backup, I would be using the 70-300 at closer to 200 mm to compress the background. You don't say what make, model of 70-300 though. If it is a high enough quality 70-300 lens, I would use it at the widest aperture you can get at 200 mm.

 

[droiddev]

Tamron 75-300 mm. Its decent. Ill try it around 200mm also. However at 200mm depending on conditions it can have a tendency to get soft.

Thanks for the pointers guys. Once I get the pics taken I will post some samples here. Heres hoping they turn out even somewhat usable.

 

[Big Mike]

Also, since you know what your B.I.L will be wearing, try to get the rest of family to coordinate. They don't have to be wearing the same thing...but the idea is to get them into colors that complement each other, rather than stand out. If everyone is wearing green or brown, but one person is dressed in bright yellow, that can ruin you shot...if you know what I mean.

 

[droiddev]

Yeah I know exactly what you mean. I told my sister to dress her and their son in something subtle. To match the tone that his ACU will have. Hopefully she listens, little sisters have a tendency to block out some things you say...selectively.

 

[droiddev]

Ok so I took some photos. Some at 200mm and some with my 50mm 1.8. Where they wanted the photos taken there was not any really good shade. Their adamant choice not mine...

But tell me what you think or any C&C is VERY welcome. This was my first time photographing portraits.

This one I was disappointed in. I wanted this one to turn out so much better. I believe I should have zoomed in a bit more or stepped in closer. This was taken at 200mm.

This isnt all the images these are just the ones I would like some C&C on so that I can know how to make these shots better.